Korean Sinitic Poetry from Ancient Times to 1945: Si in the East
With David McCann and Jang Wu Lee.
Korean Sinitic Poetry from Ancient Times to 1945: Si in the East offers a ground-breaking introduction to the oral performative aspect of Korean Sinitic poetry (hansi 漢詩). The anthology introduces 51 representative works of Korean Sinitic poetry from the 9th to early 20th century including 9 by women poets.
Each poem is discussed with ample notes on allusions and expressions, sounds and verbal glossing (hyŏnt’o), and commentaries that look beyond the geographical boundary of Korea.
Overview essays offer cultural and literary history in a broader East Asian context, and detailed linguistic guides emphasize the musicality and orality of this treasured literary tradition.
I Met Loh Kiwan
Ji-Eun Lee's translation of Cho Haejin's short novel I Met Loh Kiwan follows North Korean refugee Loh Kiwan to a place where he doesn’t speak the language or understand the customs. His story of hardship and determination is gradually revealed in flashbacks by the narrator, Kim, a writer for a South Korean TV show, who learned about Loh from a news report. She traces his progress from North Korea to Brussels to London as he struggles to make his way and find a home in an unfamiliar world.
Women Pre-Scripted: Forging Modern Roles through Korean Print
Women Pre-Scripted explores the way ideas about women and their social roles changed during Korea's transformation into a modern society. Drawing on a wide range of materials published in periodicals—ideological debates, cartoons, literary works, cover illustrations, letters and confessions—the author shows how at different times between 1896 and 1934, the idea of modern womanhood transforms from virgin savior to mother of the nation to manager of modern family life and, finally, to an embodiment of the capitalist West, fully armed with sexuality and glamour.
Burying a Treasure Map at the U-Turn
An earlier version of this translation is also available:
“To Bury a Treasure Map at the U-Turn” in Azalea: A Journal of Korean Literature and Culture, The Korea Institute at Harvard University (2007): 81-96.